When Things Fall Apart

Chapter Eighteen

The celestial bronze spiked weight was falling down on Artemis. She braced herself for the last moments of her existence.

Before her eyes flashed a series of events. There was her, Apollo, and Leto playing on the island they were born on. There was Zeus looking down at her and her brother for the first time at Olympus. A series of images with the Hunt came next, and the last of those was Zoe in her final moments.

And the last image she saw was Percy. She had her arms wrapped around him as she stared into his ethereal sea green eyes. His hair was always able to find that balance where it was disheveled and messy in a way that still looked more than presentable. His cheeks were red, and he was scared to dance with her. She remembered smelling the sea when she was with him. And in that moment of the past, she was happy.

The "life flashing before her eyes" thing seemed to last for a couple of minutes, but reality overtook her, and she had just seconds to live.

She closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

BOOM

Artemis was shoved out of the way and landed on the soft soil. She looked up, and the weight had landed.

She stood up and looked around. To her left, Sally was screaming. She looked over to the Fates, and their faces were left awestruck. And then she looked where Percy had stood. He wasn't there.

One tear fell from her cheek. He sacrificed himself for her to live. Another tear followed. He sacrificed himself so everyone could be free from the clutches of Fate. And then her eyes gave way to a stream of tears. He was gone. Percy Jackson didn't exist anymore.

She dropped down on her knees and started to sob. It wasn't the quiet, "trying to hide your emotions" sob. This was the gross, "letting it all go" kind of crying. Although she couldn't find the will to lift her head, she heard Sally doing the same.

Was this how her life had to be? She was able to find the best man to ever live. The man who was loyal to the ones he loved. The man who would do anything, even accept death, for another to live. He was beyond perfect, and Artemis was, rather than subduing all of her emotions, willing to accept her feelings for him and hoped to see him again someday. And today was supposed to be the day.

The more she thought about it, the more she hated her destiny. She didn't want to have to hide her feelings for Percy. If she was able to confess them sooner, none of these events would have happened. Sure, she swore on the Styx to remain a maiden, but the Fates had just admitted that they set up everyone to do what the wanted. They were just good at hiding it with a sense of "consciousness" and "self-awareness" with each decision.

What if, deep down in the potential of Artemis, was the ability to date a good man? To marry him, have kids, and live a happy life. What if all of those were a part of her that the Fates never brought to the surface of her being?

She was starting to cough from all of her crying. She wiped her face, which was covered in fluids and grossness and stuff. She tried to recollect herself, although really, she was just converting sadness into anger.

She looked up in front of her, and the Fates just sat there like the useless hags that they were. Artemis' eyes were beaming with silver moonlight. She could feel the tides rising with her control over the moon.

She started to walk towards the Fates, although she had no sense of her body. It was simply on auto-pilot, willing to do all of the things that her rage demanded. She grabbed her silver hunting knives and grasped them in her hand.

The Fates tried to escape, but she grabbed one by the hand.

"NO YOU DON'T" she yelled at her. "YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER FOR THIS. FOR EVERYTHING."